HOLBY City star Rosie Marcel has now revealed that she was secretly glad the drama was given the axe by the BBC.

The 46-year-old played her famed alter-ego Jac Naylor for 17 years after first appearing in the eighth series of the hit BBC show in 2005.

Fans were devastated after the publicly funded corporation cancelled the show in March 2022.

But the actress has now hinted there were unforeseen benefits to the medical drama ending.

Rosie told The Mirror: “I don’t think I became a mother until I left Holby City.

“I don’t think I really knew who I was, and I don’t think I really knew who my daughter was, until I was axed. My husband Ben [Stacey] did it all.

“I left the house first thing and was back really late. My character was incredibly popular so I was there all the time. It was very rare that I got time off.”

She added: “I’m actually really grateful [the show was axed], because I probably would have stayed and I would have missed more.”

Rosie welcomed her daughter Beau, nine, back in January 2015.

But due to the pressures of her job, she returned to the set of Holby City after only six months.

She also appeared in the spin-off series Casualty at various points between 2016 and 2019.

The star was one of the BBC’s highest paid actresses until the finale of the drama, but now says she enjoys a different role in her life.

She added: “I’ve really enjoyed stepping into the role of mother and housewife.”

“I really love my daughter and I love her company and I realise what I’ve missed out on.

“Motherhood is far more rewarding than acting, so it would have to be something incredibly worthy to take me away from this.”

In June 2021, the BBC announced that Holby City would be getting the axe after 23 years on screen.

Creators Tony McHale and Mal Young first brought the show to TV screens in 1999 as a spin-off from BBC’s Casualty.

The series soon became a hit with fans as it followed the drama of the staff who work in Holby City Hospital.

At the time of the announcement, the corporation explained: “We are incredibly proud of Holby City but it’s with great sadness that we are announcing that after 23 years, the show will end on screen in March of next year.

“We sometimes have to make difficult decisions to make room for new opportunities and as part of the BBC’s commitment to make more programmes across the UK, we have taken the difficult decision to bring the show to a close in order to reshape the BBC’s drama slate to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country.”